A bid by businesswoman Mary Wambui Mungai to regain control of Glee Hotel suffered a setback after the High Court allowed an administration process initiated by Equity Bank to continue. In a ruling delivered on Thursday, Justice Freda Mugambi found that the hotel had failed to provide sufficient grounds for the court to suspend the administrator’s mandate pending the hearing of the dispute over the debt. Justice Mugambi noted that the hotel had not disputed owing money to the bank and had failed to demonstrate that the administrator’s involvement had adversely affected its day-to-day operations. She also found that the…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
Betting firms in Kenya could face suspension or licence revocation for repeatedly allowing self-excluded gamblers to place bets or encouraging them to return to gambling under new regulations aimed at strengthening consumer protection. The measures are contained in the Gambling Control (Conduct of Gambling Operations) Regulations, 2026, gazetted on June 30, which introduce third-party-initiated exclusion from gambling for the first time under Kenya’s gambling laws. Under the new rules, a family member or other interested party may apply to the gambling regulator to exclude a person where their gambling has caused, or is likely to cause, serious financial hardship, threatens…
Safaricom shareholders will vote on proposed changes that could require the Kenyan government’s approval before the company expands into new markets outside Kenya and Ethiopia. The telecommunications company has proposed amendments to its articles of association requiring government consent before any resolution to enter new territories is implemented. The changes will be presented at Safaricom’s 2026 Annual General Meeting, where shareholders will decide whether to approve the amendments. In a notice to shareholders, Safaricom stated that “any resolution relating to the expansion of the business of the company into new territories outside of Kenya and Ethiopia shall not be deemed…
Athletics Kenya has awarded 27 coaches with World Athletics Level One certificates after they successfully completed an intensive coaching course, in a move aimed at strengthening grassroots athletics development and safeguarding the future of the sport. The graduation ceremony, held at Gem garden in Nairobi, brought together senior athletics officials, elite athletes, development partners and diplomats, highlighting the growing international support for athletics development in Kenya. Among those in attendance were Athletics Kenya President Lt Gen (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei, H.E. Gideon Behar, Israel’s Ambassador to Kenya, representatives from Co-operative Bank, led by Francis Ngambi, and Aberdare Sports Club Director Georginah…
Starlink has halted new residential sign-ups in seven of Kenya’s busiest counties after reaching network capacity. The move means prospective subscribers in Nairobi, Kiambu, Mombasa, Machakos, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, and Kwale can no longer place new orders, signalling growing demand for the satellite internet service and raising questions about when additional capacity will become available. Since its launch in July 2023, Starlink has experienced exponential growth, with the number of subscribers increasing significantly as the company introduced repeated price reductions. The growth of the firm has been driven by the affordability of its internet service and lower equipment costs. The satellite…
The Summer Tides Festival held at Lost Beach Club in Malindi has sparked debate among residents, religious leaders, tourism stakeholders and business owners over the role of youth entertainment events in shaping the coastal town’s culture and economy. The three-day festival, held from July 2 to 4, attracted young people from across Kenya and international visitors for music, beach activities and entertainment. While businesses in Malindi welcomed the event for creating economic opportunities, some residents and religious leaders raised concerns over issues they said included dressing styles, alcohol consumption and public behaviour during the festival. Nairobi County Chief Officer for…
Severe droughts have left multinational and small-scale tea farmers counting their losses as they face declining yields. In an effort to cut costs, some tea companies have pruned tea bushes and laid off workers due to reduced harvests over the past four months. The Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed concerns about falling yields of cash crops such as tea, coffee, pyrethrum and sugarcane, attributing the situation to dry weather. “The decreased rain has affected the development of tea, coffee, sugarcane, pyrethrum and other crops,” states an annual report released in April. As reported by the Tea Directorate, overall production has…
South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics says it expects to post a 19-fold jump in its profits, driven by global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips. The company forecast that it made $58.4 billion between the start of April and the end of June, marking its third record quarterly operating profits in a row. Major South Korean firms like Samsung release forecasts of their earnings ahead of official detailed reports to help guide investors. Samsung’s latest forecast, released on Tuesday ahead of its full results due later in July, comes as demand for semiconductors continues to outstrip supplies -…
The government has disbursed Sh7.9 billion to oil marketers in a move aimed at easing liquidity pressures in the petroleum sector and helping stabilise fuel supply chains. “The money was paid to importers who will then pay the respective oil marketers based on the volumes lifted,” said Kello Harsama, the Principal Secretary in the State Department of Petroleum. Payment for the May 15–June 14 cycle is expected to support the oil industry, which in recent months has encountered challenges due to funding hitches tied to outstanding subsidies. The combination of pending payments and costly fuel due to the US–Israel war…
WhatsApp is introducing a new privacy feature that will allow users to connect with new people without revealing their phone numbers. The Meta-owned messaging platform is rolling out ‘usernames’, — a feature that will protect users’ personal information, particularly in group chats and first-time conversations. The platform, with more than three billion users worldwide, announced that it has opened global reservations for usernames ahead of the feature’s rollout later this year. The update marks one of WhatsApp’s biggest privacy changes in recent years, shifting from reliance on phone numbers as the primary way users identify and contact each other. “When…
